Complaint Linked to World Bank Loan Alleges Land Seizures, Damage to Water Sources
Last week, 13 rural communities in Guinea made public a complaint against the World Bank’s private lending arm over a loan to one of country’s largest bauxite miners, alleging its operations have destroyed ancestral farm lands and polluted vital water sources.
Monrovia – The Land Rights Law (LRL) is a milestone legal instrument, but if “gaps” within the law are not bridged and its “contradictions” to the Community Rights Law (CRL) of 2009 with Respect to Forest Lands not addressed, the law could undermine Liberia’s land reform process. This is according to two policy briefs by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) released last Thursday in Monrovia.
Pretoria - The government was working tirelessly to ensure that land claims by communities forcefully removed from their property as a result of apartheid-era legislation were settled swiftly and claimants received compensation, President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed.
He made the remarks in Pretoria on Saturday while officiating at a land restitution ceremony which marked successful claims by 10 Gauteng communities who were presented with title deeds and financial compensation.
Yolanda is an Afro-Colombian who has dedicated her life to preserving the culture and environment of the Guapi region of Colombia on the Pacific coast.
As an internationally recognized activist and community leader, Yolanda has founded and lead a number of advocacy organizations including Aso Manos Negra, a feminist association that works to promote environmental sustainability and women’s land rights in the Pacific region of Colombia.
In Mozambique, like in so many other parts of the world, a quiet land rights revolution is brewing, ready as ever to emerge. The end of a brutal civil war, which lasted sixteen years and ended in 1992, brought about a period of national reconstruction, with progressive reforms taking place to protect land rights and encourage rural investment.
Inadequate laws and policies, patriarchal mindsets, an unwelcoming system, lack of mobility due to traditional patriarchal norms, anda dearth of information about laws, are just some of the main reasons for the uneven distribution, ownership and control of land for women. Furthermore, women’s participation and access to public forums in this context is limited, at best, whether it is in their own village, panchayat, block, tehsil or district. In Uttar Pradesh, the Revenue Department is often occupied in large part, if not entirely, by men.
Shathi, daughter of Md Abdul Razzak, lives in the village of Hatiyadah located in the sub district of Singra within the larger Natore district. Her dream was to support the poor after finishing her studies, helping them and taking care of them. Although she herself was born into a poor family, with her strong will, merit and hard work, Shathi completed her graduation and joined BRAC Microfinance’s Hatiyadah Office.
Nurul Islam, a teacher by profession lived in a village called Bhatiyapara located in Chakla Union under Parnchagarh Sadar sub district. He inherited some land from his father and also purchased some land using his life’s savings. Although well-versed and educated, he had no knowledge on land related issues. Hearing about people suffering due to their land related problems, Nurul Islam decided to get his lands mutated, fearing this might be a big concern for him in the future.
Among the Kuki tribes of Manipur, the chieftainship system of land holding is still in practice. This system is subject to highly unequal land and power relations, where land ownership is the exclusive right and prerogative of the chief. Astonishingly, villagers have no rights over land whatsoever. Clearly, the land rights system is still one of great challenges in the Kuki Society.